General Motors to invest $1.04 bln in Australian operationsMarch 22, 2012 - 11:33 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. car maker General Motors on Thursday, March 22, committed to invest A$1 billion (US$1.04 billion) in its Australian operations over the next decade after securing Australian government support to help it keep its car plant open until at least 2022. According to Reuters, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the national and two state governments would inject A$275 million into GM Holden in the latest hand out to the country's struggling auto makers to protect manufacturing jobs. Australia's three car makers - GM Holden and the Australian arms of Toyota Motor Corp and Ford Motor - have all cut jobs due to falling sales and exports, blamed on the global downturn and a record high Australian dollar, which has traded above parity with the U.S. dollar. The funding will secure the jobs of 12,000 people employed by GM Holden's Adelaide car plant and engine manufacturing plant in Victoria, and shore up thousands more manufacturing jobs in the components sector. GM Holden cut 140 jobs from its Adelaide car plant in February, while Toyota said in January it was cutting 350 jobs at its Australian manufacturing operations. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |